Aron Sanchez and Arone Dyer have long indulged an inventive spirit—prior to forming Buke and Gase, Sanchez logged time in The Blue Man Group, where he also designed instruments; Dyer fashioned custom-built bikes. As Buke and Gase, they’ve employed this ingenuity to create their own instruments: Dyer’s buke, or one-of-a-kind baritone ukulele, and Sanchez’s gase, or self-strung bass-guitar hybrid. Friday night, they brought these Frankensteinian instruments to life, with a stunning set at Johnny Brenda’s.

The challenge for any two-piece live is always creating the sort of full sound that’s achieved easily with 4 or 5 musicians—and for Buke and Gase, this meant also controlling a small platoon of pedals and foot percussion, including Sanchez’s kick-drum and Dyer’s “toe-bourine,” or custom-built tambourine that strapped onto her boot. The resulting set-up required intense concentration from both parties—no flailing about recklessly in fits of rock’n roll revelry allowed—but yielded truly impressive results, as the band wove complex, mathy tunes, with Dyer’s vocals floating on top like a butterfly.

The band’s hour-long set spanned their entire catalogue, including the recently-released General Dome. Songs like “Hiccup” throbbed with syncopation, Dyer’s diaphragm pulsing as she spit out notes—while “Misshapen Introduction,” off the band’s 2012 Function Falls EP, allowed her vocals to echo and swell like a choir, Sanchez’s pounding kick drum adding forward movement. Watching the pair work was impressive and inspiring—like watching a Rube Goldberg machine run its course…with the end result being beautiful music. Truly a unique performance.

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Philadelphia: Home to a rich musical history, a unique musical identity, and one of the nation's most thriving musical communities. In a scene filled with so many local bands worth listening to, there will always be new music to discover—and The Key is your source for finding it. Brought to you by WXPN—the non-commercial public radio station that World Cafe, XPN2, and XPoNential Music Festival call home—The Key covers all local music in Greater Philly and beyond.GET IN TOUCH

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About The Key

Philadelphia: Home to a rich musical history, a unique musical identity, and one of the nation's most thriving musical communities. In a scene filled with so many local bands worth listening to, there will always be new music to discover—and The Key is your source for finding it. Brought to you by WXPN—the non-commercial public radio station that World Cafe, XPN2, and XPoNential Music Festival call home—The Key covers all local music in Greater Philly and beyond.GET IN TOUCH